Actuators, particularly at very small scales, have been constructed in a host of variations, all designed to exploit electrical, electromechanical, and elastomeric effects. The geometries of the actuators may exhibit considerable variety from one device to another, with the actuating elements ranging in shape from thin cantilevered beams to planar deflecting diaphragms.
Microscopic Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) actuators may refer to tiny actuator devices that may be built onto semiconductor chips and measured in micrometers. MEMS actuators may find application in a variety of systems ranging from miniaturized fluid pumps to flat panel displays such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,319,491, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The applied force of the MEMS actuators (referring to the force used to move or control something) is typically enhanced by applying a mechanical force in a system designed to exploit intrinsic leverage. The applied force of the MEMS actuators may also be enhanced by using iterative techniques such as using interdigitated comb electrodes. For example, a force may be applied at each electrode lined up in a comb fashion where an aggregate force summed over all the teeth in the comb may be used to put the MEMS actuator into motion. However, these structures are fairly complicated and inefficient as a function of input energy.
Therefore, there is a need in the art to enhance the performance of MEMS actuators as a function of input energy using a less complicated structure, while achieving the additional leverage (or “mechanical advantage” as it is often referred to) without adding difficult-to-fabricate mechanical features.